Black Interior Front Door: Before & After

I know I haven't posted since March but I'm still here.  And my camera is still broken and that's why I haven't been blogging because I didn't want to subject you guys to my fuzzy iphone pictures with bad lighting.  But I'm going to anyway because I finished a project and I wanted to share it with you!

Last month I showed you a few photos I found on Pinterest of black interior front doors.  
Here's one of the photos of a front door that I think looks very similar to mine.

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Beth on Pinterest

So I ran to my local Lowe's and had the paint guy mix a quart of Valspar paint in black.  Well actually he wanted me to choose one of the colors from the paint chip area but I couldn't find a black that didn't look blue or purple or have some other kind of tint to it.  I told him I just wanted black so he said he could just add black to the can if I wanted.   Ummm, yes please!  So the paint doesn't have an actual name, it's just "plain ole black".  
So here's a nice fuzzy picture for you to see what I was starting with.  Wood doors with the original 1970's stain on it.

And here it is after I primed it.  I was actually considered painting it white and after seeing the white primer, I knew black would look so much better.

And here it is now.....

And another one.....

I love it and wish I had painted it sooner!
Now I'm working on the other side, the front.  The part that people actually see!  I started on it yesterday and I plan to finish it today when the boys take their nap since it's currently outlined in blue painters tape.  ;)
~Beth

1st Monday Trade Days in Canton, TX

I really wish this post was about my newly painted front doors and I really wish I could show you the before and after photos but last weekend one of my boys dropped my camera and then the very same day he dropped my cell phone and shattered the screen so I can't get you those photos until I get one of those devices fixed.  It was a very bad day for electronics! 
So instead of my awesome makeover, I'll just let you know about a great place you should visit if you're ever in North Texas the weekend before the first Monday of the month better know as..........1st Monday Trade Days in Canton.  
It's the largest outdoor Flea Market with over 100 acres of vendors!  You can find a little of everything, old stuff, new stuff, home decor, art, kids stuff, baby stuff, clothing, toys, lots of food, junk, candles, plants and even animals!
My husband and I used to go all the time before we had kids and we would literally be there from sun up to sun down and we still wouldn't be able to see everything.  It's THAT big.    
I haven't been in a while because it's not a place I want to bring my 3 kids otherwise I would end up spending all my money on food and all my time chasing after 2 year olds.  But last month me and my daughter and my mother-in-law went for a visit while my husband stayed home with the boys.  (Yes, I owe him one).  And it was just as awesome as I remember.  Here are a few highlights of the day.

This vendor had rows of colorful stools, life preservers, buckets, etc. 

I love this lime green color! 

And if you want to prevent achy feet, just rent a scooter!!

This vendor makes custom bedding.  My daughter liked this one.

"We are all precious in his sight...He may shake his head a lot...but we are still precious".  So true!

I love this vignette.....gray weathered beachy look.

If I was a bird I would want this to be my home.

You can't really tell in this photo but those hanging bells were HUGE!

Basket of moss balls.

This cracked me up!

I loved these little ceramic tea lights but they were a little too pricey for me.  I can't remember how much they were but I'm thinking they were $15-20 each.

More colorful buckets.

Lots of colorful crosses and wooden boxes.  Do you like my little model??

We had to buy my daughter a hat to keep her warm since we decided it was warm enough to leave out jackets in the car.  Big mistake it ended up getting cooler throughout the day but we didn't want to walk a half mile to our car to get our jackets.  

This man was making pottery in his booth.  So cool!

We loved this blingy vintage guitar.  It was marked $150.  My little model looks so funny here. 

And this ride on the kiddy Ferris Wheel made her whole day!  Just look at that face....I love that kid. 

Black Interior Front Door

I've been wanting to paint the inside of my front door for a while now but couldn't decide on a color.  It still has the original stain on it from when it was built in the 70's and it's looking a little dated.  I've been going back and forth between black and white and just couldn't make up my mind.  

I thought white would brighten things up a bit but then I realized with the glass on the door and side transoms (I think that's what they're called?) there is a ton of natural light that comes through and white could make everything too bright. 

So then I thought black would look good but I'm in one of those moods where I want everything light, bright, airy and clean looking and thought the black would darken it too much and make it look kinda gothic-y.  That's a word right?

So what does any girl with decorating paralysis do??  She does a search on Pinterest!

Once again, she came through and helped me make up my mind once and for all.  

My front door is very similar to the one below.

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Beth on Pinterest

Source: madebygirl.blogspot.com via Beth on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Beth on Pinterest

Source: hisugarplum.blogspot.com via Beth on Pinterest

Source: madebygirl.blogspot.com via Beth on Pinterest

Even with the black color it doesn't look dark at all and gives it a nice contrast and keeps everything still looking bright and airy and bit of elegance.   

This is my project today and have actually already primed it and plan on painting it black this afternoon when the boys take a nap!  

I can't wait to show you!

~Beth

We're on Spring Break..see you on Monday!

Chair Makeover: Painting Fabric

I received this chair from my husband's grandmother approximately 6 years ago.  I wish I had a picture of it when I first got it but I sent it straight to the upholsterer to have it recovered.

At the time I had a lot of Red and Gold in my house so I chose a paisley print in reds, golds and greens.  He did a great job and I was smitten with my new chair.  

That is until a couple of years ago when I decided to update my decor with a lighter color palette using blues, grays, and whites. 

Here's a Before photo (not bad, just no longer what I wanted).

 

I didn't want to pay someone to recover it again and I wasn't sure I could do a good job so I decided to just paint it!  I did a search online and found out you can use plain ole latex paint on fabric.  There were plenty of websites that said you could do it, so I did.  

What did I have to lose?  If it didn't work out, it could always be recovered.  

I have plenty of paint samples in varying shades of blue and gray from previous painting projects and decided to mix a few together in hopes to get a close match to a slate blue color in my new duvet cover.

I mixed a dark gray tester paint that I found on the Oops table for $.50 with Martha Stewart's Washed Denim and then added some black craft paint to darken it.

I was trying to get this slate blue color you see in this fabric.  Could be a little darker but close enough!

 My daughter was so excited to help me with this project.  

I gave her a sponge brush and told her to cover all the red.

Too late to turn back now!

This is how she looked after one coat.  I lightly sanded it after it dried to keep it from feeling rough.

After the second coat and still wet.

The streaks faded after it dried and after a I lightly sanded it.

And here she is after I painted the trim in Martha Stewart's Nimbus Cloud.

And here she is next to my duvet cover that I was trying to match. 

 

BEFORE

AFTER

So there you have it, I hope you like it! 

I'm so glad I painted it!  It was so quick and easy and actually turned out better than I expected. :)

Hope you have a wonderful Friday!

~Beth

Salvaged Wood Headboards: Twin Boys Room

Yesterday I showed you a few headboards I pinned on Pinterest using salvaged wood that I wanted to make for the twins room.  We were able to gather up enough old wood from a pallet and an old fence that our friend was going to throw away. 
(Please note:  be sure to seal up the boards with a non-toxic sealer to prevent off-gassing.  A lot of pallets are treated with insecticide or contain formaldahyde.We used Safecoat Safe Seal to seal up the boards).

Here's a before shot of the boy's nursery as we're pulling everything out of the room.
Complete with semi-naked babies playing with screwdrivers. 

 And here's as shot from the same angle of the new beds and headboards.

And here's a closeup.....

My husband added a push button so the boys can turn the light on/off themselves.  

They love that part!!!

 Here's one of them in the garage, you can see the top ledge/shelf thingy better in this photo.

We bolted the headboard directly to the studs in the wall.

 He's putting his letters on the top shelf.  He loves doing that over and over.

Now he's admiring his work.  Love that kid!

Hope you like our latest project

Linking up at the parties on my side bar....check them out!

Tutorial Coming soon!

~Beth

Twin Boys Room Update:: Beds

We recently moved our twin boys (age 2 1/2) out of their cribs and into twin beds.  I was hoping this day would come when they were a little older but one of them learned how to climb out of his crib and then quickly taught the other one.  When it was time for their nap, I would put them in their cribs and  within a few minutes I would  hear them giggling and playing with their toys on the floor. I could no longer keep them captive in their beds and besides, they were getting too big for them anyway! 

We originally wanted to buy them bunk beds but we couldn't find a set that we liked and we felt we needed something ASAP.  I was a Pinning fool on Pinterest, I even made a board for it (you can see my Bunk Beds board here).  Say that five times in a row....Bunk Beds Board, bunk beds board, bunk beds..........

We decided it would be easier to go ahead and buy them Twin sized mattresses and put them on a regular metal frame for the "time being" and make a couple of headboards.  

I knew I wanted to use salvaged/ recycled wood and "DIY" a headboard for them.  I pinned a few items under my Twin Boys Room board on Pinterest that used old wood like these.........

Source: beingbrook.com via Beth on Pinterest

Source: splendidsass.blogspot.com via Beth on Pinterest

Source: mysimplehomelife.com via Beth on Pinterest

And then I saw this one and I knew it was what I wanted.  And with a light mounted on it!  Love it!

Source: lh6.ggpht.com via Beth on Pinterest

I thought this one would be great so the boys could each have their own light for "reading" their books at bedtime.  We're putting the finishing touches on them today and will have pics up for you tomorrow.  

Promise!

~Beth